Writing characters in the correct stroke order can greatly facilitate learning and memorization. Correct stroke order is also vital in producing visually appealing characters. There are minor stroke order discrepancies between simplified and traditional Chinese characters. You can click the Character Standard dropdown on the page header to select the region and standard you would like to follow. In this system, the stroke orders for simplified Chinese characters are strictly based on 《 现代汉语通用字笔顺规范》 (Modern Chinese Commonly Used Character Stroke Order Standard) published by 国家语委和中华人民共和国新闻出版署(China National Language And Character Working Committee and General Administration of Press and Publication of the Peoples' Republic of China) in 1997. For traditional Chinese characters, you can select either the Taiwan or Hong Kong standard. When the Taiwan standard is selected, our system will use the standard issued by the Taiwan Ministry of Education. When you select the Hong Kong standard, our system will be based on 《香港小學學習字詞表》 (Lexical Lists For Chinese Learning in Hong Kong), a standard created by the Education Bureau of Hong Kong.

Traditionally, Chinese is written in vertical columns from top to bottom, and the text runs from right column to left column. Modern Chinese uses the familiar western layout of horizontal rows from left to right, read from the top row to the bottom row. To facilitate horizontal writing, the stroke order of some characters was changed. That is one of the main reasons there are minor differences between the standards. However, all standards were devised to help speed, fluidity, and accuracy in composition. The basic rules of stroke order remain the same.

1. From top to bottom (从上到下)
2. From left to right (从左到右)
3. Horizontal before vertical (先横后竖)
4. Diagonals right-to-left before diagonals left-to-right ( 先撇后捺)
5. Outside before inside (从外到内)
6. Inside before outside (从内到外)
7. Inside before bottom enclosing ( 先里头后封口)
8. Center verticals before outside "wings" ( 先中间后两边)
9. Cutting strokes last ( 相交笔画后写)
10. Left vertical before enclosing ( 先左竖后封口)
11. Top or upper-left dots first ( 点在上边或左上先写 )
12. Inside or upper-right dots last ( 点在右上或里边后写)

You can view the character animations on the character animator page if you wish to see detailed stroke orders for a certain Chinese character. To acquire a natural feel for the proper stroke order, you should practice writing them yourself. You can use the generated handwriting worksheets to help you write them correctly and beautifully.

1. From top to bottom (从上到下)

As an example, the character 二 (two), which has two strokes, is written with the top stroke first and then the lower stroke. This rule applies also to other characters with Above to Below structure, such as 全, the top component 人 is written before the lower component 王. Click the following characters to see more animated character examples: 古, 苗, 早, 要, 息, 童, 员, etc.

2. From left to right (从左到右)

Among the first characters usually learned is the number one 一. This character has one stroke which is written from left to right. Again, this rule applies to all the characters with Left to Right structure such as 叶 (leaf), the left component 口 (mouth), which is a radical, is written first and then the right component 十 (ten). You can view more examples: 听, 拉, 把, 好, 你, 吗, 他, etc.

3. Horizontal before vertical (先横后竖)

When strokes cross, horizontal strokes are usually written before vertical strokes. As an example, the character 十 (ten) has two strokes. The horizontal stroke 一 is written first, followed by the vertical stroke. The following are more examples: 干, 井, 工, 本, 王, 土, 七, etc

4. Diagonals right-to-left before diagonals left-to-right ( 先撇后捺)

As in 人(person), right-to-left diagonals (ノ) are written before left-to-right diagonals (乀). Same rule applies to: 又, 文, 大, 八, 父, 合, 全, etc.

5. Outside before inside (从外到内)

Outside enclosing strokes are written before inside strokes, for examples 同, 月, 闪, 向, etc. This rule applies to the characters with Surround from Upper Left structure (左上包围结构), such as 厘, 危, 友, 发, or Surround from Upper Right structure (右上包围结构), such as 乌, 可, 包, 乃, or Surround from Above structure (上包围结构), such as 冈, 闭, 凤, 问.

6. Inside before outside (从内到外)

This rule applies to the characters with Surround from Below structure (下包围结构), such as 凶, 凿, 鼎, 凼 or characters with Surround from Lower Left structure (左下包围结构), such as 达, 运, 建 etc.

7. Inside before bottom enclosing (先里头后封口)

If there is a bottom stroke, the bottom stroke is written last. For an example, for the character 因, the outside enclosing strokes are written first, followed by the inside component 大 and then the bottom horizontal stroke. The same pattern you can find in 田, 国, 日, 四， 回, etc.

8. Center verticals before outside "wings"( 先中间后两边)

For the character 小, the center 亅 comes first before the two dots. Same rule applies to character 水, 永, 来, 乐, etc.

9. Cutting strokes last ( 相交笔画后写)

Vertical strokes that "cut" through a character are written after the horizontal strokes they cut through, as in 中, 干, 羊.

10. Left vertical before enclosing ( 先左竖后封口)

Left vertical strokes are written before enclosing strokes. In the following two examples, the leftmost vertical stroke (丨) is written first, followed by the uppermost and rightmost lines (┐) (which are written as one stroke): 日 and 口. This rule applies to most of the characters with Full Surround structure, such as 田, 国, 日, 四， 回, etc.

11. Top or upper-left dots first ( 点在上边或左上先写)

For examples, in character 衣, 为, 永, 闪, 童, the dots are written before any other strokes.

12. Inside or upper-right dots last ( 点在右上或里边后写)

For examples, in character 我, 瓦, 玉, etc, the dots are written last.